Adams asks governors for more local scrutiny of I-5 bridge project

View full sizeColumbia River CrossingThis artist's rendering shows what a 12-lane I-5 bridge could look like, viewed from Vancouver, with light rail and a bicycle-pedestrian path built underneath two bridge structures.Portland Mayor Sam Adams today pushed back against two Northwest governors' call for urgency on a $3.6 billion plan for a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.

In a statement posted to his web site, Adams said the Columbia River Crossing project could be improved with more analysis in a few months, and still meet deadlines for federal funding.

Adams referred to a letter he sent to the governors last month, which was also signed by Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart and Metro Council President David Bragdon.

"We, the local elected officials signing off on this project, need confidence and trust that the best, most up-to-date analysis is being performed on what will be the most expensive public-works project ever built in the Pacific Northwest," Adams' statement says. "Taking the time to get it right is just common sense."

Govs. Ted Kulongoski and Chris Gregoireresponded to the local officials on Wednesday, saying they would convene a panel of experts to review the project's assumptions over the next three months.

The governors' letter also indicated they are directing bridge planners to produce a final report on the project assuming a $3.6 billion plan that was unveiled late last year. That plan calls for a 10-lane bridge, planned for expansion to 12, light rail and toll charges. It would also delay much of an overhaul to the I-5/Marine Drive interchange, considered the most important highway interchange in Oregon.

Portland and Vancouver officials have said they're not pleased with the way the $3.6 billion plan eliminates some Hayden Island businesses and cuts freight related improvements in a project that has been touted as a boost for freight.

Though the project would reconstruct a four-mile section of interstate highway, with no money from local governments, local leaders have a potentially large sway over it. State and federal representatives normally expect local consensus on large projects, since the short supply of transportation money is in high demand.

The prospect of toll charges on the bridge almost entirely defined the Vancouver mayor's race last year. And the potential for bridge-related sprawl and traffic are a key issue in the race for Metro Council president this year.

As The Oregonian has reported, planners have spent more than a million dollars a month for several years on project studies, mostly ignoring calls from members of Congress from the Northwest to dramatically scale back the project's scope and construction cost. Though planners have spent $65 million, and expect to have spent $100 million by this summer, local political consensus on the project remains elusive.

Adams statement today says the review panel the governors propose is not what the local officials had in mind.

"We are willing to work with such a panel," Adams says. "But, we have other procedural and substantive requests that demand more meaningful local engagement."

Adams says those requests include:

"Tightening up the analysis of freight needs in the bridge area and targeting freight-dedicated infrastructure to specifically address those needs; Better understanding (through limited additional modeling) of the potential for sprawl on both sides of the river.

Engaging a third-party consultant with urban freeway expertise to ensure we're applying state-of-the-art problem-solving to the uniquely urban set of challenges posed by this project.

Adams says the review the local officials call for should include a look at replacing the near century old, six-lane Interstate Bridge with a new six lane bridge. But state bridge planners have said they wouldn't consider such an alternative.

Adams contends that the review local officials called for would not delay the project. His letter today also questions the need for urgency in planning the project.

Adams cites U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio's comments to The Oregonian's editorial board last week: "There's no sense of urgency about the Columbia River Crossing because there's no pot of money available."